Details
TQ 64 SE BRENCHLEY CRYALS ROAD
6/65 Old Cryals
II*
Farmhouse. Circa early C14 or earlier origins with a circa early C15 addition
or remodelling; alterations of the circa late C16. Framed construction, the
ground floor partly underbuilt in brick, the first floor tile-hung; peg-tile
roof; brick stacks.
Plan and Development: The house faces west. At present it consists of a
single-depth main block, unusually deep, 3 rooms wide with a deep outshut at
the south end and a rear left wing at right angles. The 2 centre rooms are
heated by adjacent axial stacks, the rear wing by an end stack. The core of
the house, from the right hand (southern) axial stack as far as the right end
outshut is a circa early C14 open hall house of 2 bays; it probably had a
passage entrance at the right (south) end. The building may have extended
further at either or both ends. It had a scissor-braced roof construction,
possibly combined with crown posts. One closed scissor-braced truss remains
in situ at the right (south) end. The existing 2 bays were open to the roof
timbers from end to end. The next medieval phase was the addition of a 1 1/2
bay block at the north end in the circa early C15. This is storeyed and
jettied to the front (west) with a crown post roof construction and is
separately framed, at least on the first floor. It provided a ground floor
room with a ceiling of intersecting beams. In the circa late C16 a stack was
inserted at the north end of the circa early c16 block and the hall was
floored. The continuing high status of the building at this date is clear
from the quality of the hall chimney-piece. Probably at the same time the
early C14 roof was remodelled. The crown posts were removed and the old roof
was replaced with a clasped purlin arrangement, re-using the rafter couples of
the scissor-braced roof. The rafters were re-set on to new wall plates and
re-pegged at the apex. A second stack was inserted, into the north end room,
heating both ground and first floor rooms in that block. These alterations
probably included a lobby entrance on the west side, which is still the site
of the front door. The south end outshut is difficult to date, most of the
visible timbers are re-used. The rear left wing is probably C19. The north
end block has been divided into 2 rooms on the ground floor, probably in the
circa 1930s, when the house was re-windowed and provided with a porch to the
lobby entrance.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 5-window front, the roof gabletted at the
left end and gabled at the right end of the main block with a long lean-to
roof over the right end outshut. The house is jettied to the front at the
left end. Circa 1930s gabled porch to left of centre with an oak door with
strap hinges flanked by one-light windows with diamond leaded panes. 5 first
floor and 4 ground floor circa 1930s casement windows of 2 and 3 lights with
diamond leaded panes. Evidence of a blocked doorway in the brickwork of the
front elevation to the right of the main block. This is opposed to a C20 door
on the rear elevation and probably marks the site of the medieval cross
passage. The rear elevation has C20 casement windows.
Interior: Rich in carpentry from both the medieval and C16 phases. The late
C16 hall has a massive ceiling beam on the long axis with bar stops and
exposed joists. Spectacular circa late C16 carved oak chimney-piece with an
order of twist moulding on the lintel, moulded jambs and twist-moulded
spandrels. The north end room, now divided into 2, has an intersecting beam
ceiling with step stops and exposed joists of massive scantling. The
fireplace has rebuilt jambs and a plain lintel. The wall and crossframes of
the medieval phases are well-preserved. The phase one frame has massive wall
posts with flared step-stopped jowls and step-stopped ties. The wall posts
are not all visible and one, supporting the main hall tie at the front,
appears to be a later replacement with a chamfered jowl. The main tie is arch
braced, the braces massive and fixed with 8 pegs each, with a roll-moulding in
the tie at the apex. It is difficult to distinguish the early C14 and C15
frames on the first floor on a superficial inspection but there appears to
have been a symmetrical design of 4 tension braces at what is now first floor
level in the left hand (north) early crossframe. The first floor of the
jettied end of the house has a blocked fireplace, probably retaining a late
C16 or C17 lintel. The tie supporting the north end crown post has short,
curved braces to the wall posts. The timbers visible in the south end outshut
are mostly re-used and incorporate the lintel or sill of a mullioned window.
Roof: One scissor-braced rafter couple from the circa early C14 phase remains
in situ, at the right (south) end of the main block. This was a closed
partition and retains some of its original sooted infill although most has
been removed and replaced by later infill against the back (south) side of the
partition. One of the rafters sits on a pad. Beyond this, to the north, the
roof is of late C16 clasped purlin design but re-using the smoke blackened
rafters of the scissor-braced roof, the braces removed. There are 18 rafter
couples in all, mostly smoke blackened but augmented with presumably late C16
clean rafter couples. The sooted rafters have been re-pegged at the apex,
where the halved joints alternate, and have clean pegs. Some have been turned
through 90 degrees but all retain the slots for the former scissor braces.
The rafters are set into a clean wall plate dating from the C16 phase. The
top of the main hall tie retains a slot for a former crown post as does the
northern tie, which is north of the inserted stack. The crown post roof over
the north end of the house consists of a plain post in the closed partition at
the south end of this block. This lath and plaster partition is sooted on the
hall side. The plain post has down braces to the tie and had an up brace to
the collar purlin on the south side - this was removed when the southern axial
stack was inserted. The freestanding crown post over the south end has 4 up
braces. The post is cruciform on plan with 4 fillets, one to the centre of
each side, carved out of the solid, and a chamfered base with broach stops.
Old Cryals is an outstandingly interesting house of unusually early origins,
with at least 2 medieval phases of evolution and a third, high quality C16
phase of modernisation.
Interpretation of the building based on analysis by John R.L. Thorp.
Listing NGR: TQ6613140337
